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6

FiveTimesAugust

Joined Jan. 20, 2006

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  • 2 years, 11 months ago
    FiveTimesAugust's comment on:

    Calling all Five Times August fans

    First of all... Erin, thanks for the help and support with the contest, I appreciate it very much.

    Second.. it's nice to come back to this site and see that an idea I was trying out a good year ago is still being held against me by the angry Alan Cohen. So with that said...

    Dear Angry Alan, If you had actually been to my myspace page since then, you'd see I no longer have the intros on the player. It was just an idea I was trying out to see if it would help the awareness for people to not souly rely on myspace for audio, because the CD has much more to offer than just whatever 4 songs I can post on my myspace player.

    On top of that, if you go to my official website (fivetimesaugust.com) and click on audio, I stream every FTA song in full. I also provide lyrics to every song with the stories behind them. A lot of my fans write to tell me they really enjoy that and appreciate that I offer them so much information. So, if the 'enjoyment' factor for you is simply downloading my songs for free so you don't have to pay for it, then I'm not really sorry buddy. I respond to all my fan e-mails and stick around after shows to talk with them as long as they want. I update my own website, ship out my own merch orders, drive my own van across the country to play shows, and have even had several myspace promotions online where I've sent out over 1,000 F-R-E-E promo CD's to various fans, which I paid for with my own money. Yet, through my efforts you're going to give me grief over a 99 cent download?

    My fans even have the courtesy to drop me a line and let me know when someone like you is bad mouthing me... twice. I wouldn't have bothered responding this time, I don't get very many negative remarks from people, but I always try to defend myself when I do... even though I shouldn't have to... heck, most musicians wouldn't.

    Anyway, don't judge me and how I treat my fans, because I love my fans and I know my fans, and I try to give them everything they are looking for.

    If you want my music for free go download it off limewire. It doesn't help me out much, but hopefully it'll bring the enjoyment back to my music for you.

    Bah Humbug to you too Angry Alan, -Brad w/ Five Times August

  • 3 years, 10 months ago
    FiveTimesAugust's comment on:

    Solicitation Intros

    This article was brought to my attention from a fan in Dallas. I thought it was important that I reply. It boggles my mind how greedy some people can get with music. I’m not pointing fingers, because I have great fans and a really supportive following. I only wrote my blog in response to a few e-mails I’ve received over the last couple months, and just wanted to put it out there for anybody else who was wondering if I might be able to retract the intros.

    I think it’s important that Alan should do a little more research next time before posting negative opinions toward someone. I’ve been doing Five Times August for 4 1/2 years now. I’ve been through the “I’m going to give out my music for free to make myself look cool” stage already. Yea, it’s a great way to get out there when you are starting out, but I’m not starting out anymore. In fact, I think it’s really cool you can find some of my older songs on sites like Limewire. There’s some rare demos and early album tracks on there that I used to give away on my website because I don’t sell them anymore. What I’m asking is that you support the music I’m selling now. A lot of people don’t know where to get it, so I made the intro for the songs to let them know. Yea, I thought some people would get annoyed with it after a while, but I don’t think it’s “deplorable” .. it’s just another marketing strategy. It’s like any other commercial you’d hear on the radio or see on TV. I’ve got to do all I can think of to get your hands on my CD. That’s my job.

    So maybe I don’t hand out my music for free, but that has nothing to do with whether or not I care about my fans. I take offense to that. I write back to every e-mail I get, talk with fans after shows, and even respond to negative articles people post about me online. Trust me, I care.

    The “good money” fans pay to see me at my shows isn’t really all that great. I live in Austin, TX, the “live music capital of the world.” Musicians come and go here. On average, my shows are $5 cover. The venue takes one or two dollars for themselves. Then they take a cut for the door guy. Good money, definitely.

    “As far as I'm concerned, going to a concert is every bit as valid a way of supporting musicians as buying their merchandise.”

    You are absolutely right Alan. But if you check out my past show history on my website, you’ll take note that 98% of my shows have been in Texas for the last 4 1/2 years. I get a lot of e-mails asking when I’ll be coming to their town, usually outside of TX. So how am I supposed to get there without funds? And how do I make money again? Ah yes, merch sales.

    The problem with the internet is that when you read someone’s blog, you never really know what their tone of voice is while reading their thoughts. So, I’ll apologize that Alan took it the wrong way. I won’t say I’m sorry for promoting my music, and I won’t apologize for not handing out my music for free. But if that’s the case, see ya at a show Alan!

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